Ticklish Koala

03/09/2010

I always find it strange and amazing when animals behave in ways that make them look human. Check out the video of this ticklish koala.  Besides being almost disgustingly cute, it's a perfect example of how some non-human animals can also manipulate their facial features to respond to physical contact and show emotion.  You can't look at the koala's face and not instantly see its contentedness.  

And one note of caution: this koala is obviously in a zoo situation and is used to being in close proximity to people and being touched.  Never approach any wild animal, because even cute ones will not hesitate to bite and claw you to protect themselves.  In fact, in the wild koalas have a reputation for being rather nasty when they feel threatened.

Comments

[Oz]

Great video.

We picked it up and put it on

www.ozgoestopalmbeach.blogspot.com

It is the personal blog of Oz the lonely koala as he plans his move to Palm Beach in the hope of eventually finding true love and starting a family.

[Angeere Fangouise]

I'm sorry to say, but the comment: "I always find it strange and amazing when animals behave in ways that make them look human" must be the dumbest one I have heard in several years. Are people so stupid they don't even know that we are all products of nature and human versus Animal is in fact non existant. Djebus, read some biology or any modern book before stating something so utterly dumb.

and: non-human animals? What? What did you just write? I'm sorry, the previous comment was wrong. That was the dumbest comment ever. Go to a zoo and be amazed how animals actually can show feelings. Come on... You will meet several of them almost everytwhere.

For the video: Yes, rather cute although I'm unsure on to how the koala actually likes to be touched by non-animal humans. (get it?)

[David Mizejewski]

Thanks for your comment Angeere. I chose to post and comment on this precisely because so many people don't realize that humans are just a kind of animal and that other animals that aren't human (i.e., non--human animals) have emotions and that some species can express them with facial expressions just like we do. By sharing this video here in the way that I did, I hope to educate people on your points.

[Hip Hop Goon]

That's the funniest Koala I have ever seen... lol!

[Data Recovery]

I would like to know more on ticklish koala.

[Captain Obvious]

The Koala looks annoyed to me. Probably gets hella tired of being poked and prodded all day. Poor thing should be free or at the very least left the heck alone and allowed to sleep. They are nocturnal creatures after all.

[Lizzie]

I see that David has responded, but I just felt the need to let Angeere know that your "dumbest comment" remark was completely uncalled for, and it only serves to reveal YOUR ignorance.

That's all.

[rianne's corner]

An ape always behaves like human...i love that animal...

[Pete]

Cute video, but it is dangerous to anthropomorphise animal behaviour. Yes, many animals can "manipulate their facial features to respond to physical contact and show emotion", as the author puts it, but to presume these responses mirror the same emotions in humans is foolish and ignorant. Captain Obvious said, "the koala looks annoyed to me", yet the author interprets the same behaviour as "contentedness". In the same vein, cats purr when content, but they also purr in response to stress or trauma. You can't assume that just because they look content, they are.

To put it simply, all animals differ, and to arrogantly assume their 'human-like' responses represent 'human-like' emotions can do more harm than good. Educate yourself and realise that all animals do not display emotion in the same manner, or to mean the same things.

[David Mizejewski]

@Pete - I agree that anthropomorphizing animals can be dangerous. Attributing human characteristics or motivations can lead to gross misinterpretations of what goes on in the animal world, often with negative consequences for animals. Predators throughout history have suffered, for example, when humans labeled the perfectly normal and natural fact that they have to kill other animals to eat as murderous and vicious, and then used that interpretation as justification of why predators should be eradicated.

The opposite is true too and it's possible to love animals too much. The anthropomorphizing and romanticizing of white tailed deer that started with the movie Bambi has resulted in a resistance to the culling of the swelling deer herds in many places, despite the fact that the deer populations have grown well beyond the carrying capacity of the land and are actually doing really bad ecological damage to it, and the fact that there are no mountain lions or wolves anymore to do the job naturally. Do we let the deer destroy the native plant communities and all of the other wildlife that depend on them, just because deer are cute?

However, on the flip side, attempting to only ever understand or relate to animals through a supposedly objective, emotionless, scientific point of view can also have negative consequences. People who advocate for animal testing, fur farms, commercial whaling, and factory farm operations argue that animals don't have emotions and that we're just anthropomorphizing their pain, fear and suffering.

I personally feel that it impossible to NOT interpret the behavior of animals through the lens of the human experience, which after all is the only lens we have, on some small level. As long as we are aware of that fact and apply it with reason I think that it can be a powerful tool in understanding animal behavior. Jane Goodall is a shining example of this point of view.

This is particularly true when it comes to animals that are more closely related to the human animal, or those have similar characteristics and behaviors to us. In the case of many mammals and some birds (parrots, corvids), I'm ok with a little bit of anthropomorphizing when I interpret their behavior, because from a strictly objective, scientific point of view, I think it would highly unlikely that they WOULDN'T experience emotions on some level similar to those we experience.

That is the ultimate point of posting the video of the "ticklish" koala. However, this blog is meant to be entertaining, light and to attract actual readers. If I'd simply written this essay instead of the post that I did, it would have reached far fewer people.

Thanks for everyone's comments though, and the discussion that they have sparked.

[secured personal loan]

Thanks! Very helpful post!! like the template especially btw ;)

[death of boy]

i m agreed with it........................

[business cards]

This is Great! what a beautiful video.

[Living Trusts Bay Area]

Emotions are something very common & precious thing to every living being....!!

[hemorrhoid]

Greetings I recently finished reading through your blog and I'm very impressed. I do have a couple questions for you personally however. Do you think you're thinking about doing a follow-up posting about this? Will you be going to keep bringing up-to-date as well?

[voos low cost]

Excellent blog David,

keep up the good work..

[Pharmacy Technician salary]

Hi, i love the discovery blog..It gves very useful information about our nature..keep writing useful stuff..Have a nice day !

[haneef]

great animal i hav ever seen

[haneef]

gret animal

[Viagens Baratas]

What a cute little guy! I never touched one and its good that you wrote a warning in your article. Koealas look so adorable that its hard not to pet them!

[Book of Ra]

Koalas rule <3

[Stevie Cornell]

I agree with the Captain. This Koala looks like he is getting annoyed! Odd behaviour on behalf of the woman - why does she pinch the poor beastie??

[higher search engine placement]

That is a great video, i have never seen a koala accustomed to human crowds. However, its very sad to force the Koala to react accordingly. Some things are better in the wild in its own ways.

[higher search engine placement]

That is a great video, i have never seen a koala accustomed to human crowds. However, its very sad to force the Koala to react accordingly. Some things are better in the wild in its own ways.

[daily bluff of sorts]

I used to think koalas are very small. But this one is huge. My question is that are they dangerous ?